At what point did you find it too hard to work in retail?

There’s a prayer out there somewhere that goes along the lines of ‘God grant me the serenity to accept the things that I cannot change.’ I aimed quite high in my retail career before I learned that the bigger the organisation is; the harder it is to change something. I played a supervisory role for over ten years and attempted to enter management several times without success. I applied for development courses and took part in forums to change the way we worked but the people I encountered always had another agenda. They’d admit that the proposed changes would never happen because of budget allowances or take a very vague interest then leave the company the following quarter. Since then I’ve been demoted to a regular squaddie because of cutbacks and it gets frustrating when I have to advise a superior on the best course of action to fulfil a process. And of course, there’s the other colleagues. I’m all for high standards and great customer service but I can’t be there 24/7. And when I have to correct someone’s mistake because they haven’t spent the same time ensuring that their responsibilities are up to par, a little part of me dies and makes me not to want to work with these people any more.